Comments on: Venting a Little

By: Medusa

Medusa — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 18:26:41 +0000

Bergen and McCarthy were absolutely hilarious — those shorts they did for Warners are insane and hold up so well! The material is just golden and Charlie was such a fully fleshed-out character that Bergen truly was a genius and deserved every bit of his fame.I think my long-time affection for Mr. Peanut stems from his resemblance to Charlie with the top hat and monocle! As a kid I was totally into Paul Winchell and his show that originated from KTTV in my hometown of Los Angeles. Winchell and Jerry Mahoney were also hilarious, and their pal Knucklehead Smiff was silly but not quite so dumb-headed as Bergen's Mortimer Snerd, but certainly in the same vein.Dummies — and the folks who make them talk — are eternally fascinating!

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 14:58:31 +0000

Charlie McCarthy and Edgar Bergen were the first ventriloquist act I remember seeing as a kid and it cracked me up. I always thought of ventriloquist dummies as witty, wise-cracking comedians until I saw the Alfred Hitchcock episode "Final Performance" with Cliff Robertson and Franchot Tone as the demented ventriloquist…I've never been the same since. Still, it's a little hard to be afraid of a dummy wearing a monocle and top hat.

By: DRM

DRM — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 15:54:17 +0000

I always enjoyed Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy. Yes you could see Edgar's lips moving but he still created a great comedy character so what difference does it make?I always remember a comment I read some time ago about the great War of the Worlds broadcast that panicked the nation. One wag said "All the intelligent people where listening to Charlie McCarthy at the time."